Second World War plane discovered after 72 years

A propeller of the plane was uncovered in 2012 but the rest of the wreckage remained covered by the glacier's snow and ice till now.

The recent heatwave in Switzerland has thawed the snow, thereby uncovering a Second World War plane that had crashed 72 years ago. The crashed war plane was an American C-53 Skytrooper and commonly known as Dakota.

As reported by The Telegraph, the military transport plane had crashed on November 18, 1946, due to a snowstorm while flying from Tulln in Austria to Pisa in Italy, thus forcing the pilots to crash land into the Guali Glacier in the Bernese Alps. Flying at a speed of 174mph, the plane was believed to have taken a detour via Munich, Strasbourg and Marseille.

An emergency radio message alerted the Swiss ski soldiers who then rescued everyone on board five days after the crash. The survivors included eight passengers and four crew members.

Because of the recent heatwave in Switzerland, the plane was revealed alongside debris such as wings, propellers, tin cans, hangers and spoons. A local owner of a nearby mountain hut was asked to keep a stern eye of the plane ensuring that its parts stay safe and are not stolen.

The heatwave in Switzerland has put an emphasis on the growing temperatures in recent months. Certain parts of the country have experienced a rise of over 35 degrees Celsius, the hottest and driest summers since the first one recorded in 1864.

With such a rise in temperatures, the scientists have warned about the disappearance of glaciers from the Swiss Alps by 2050, and the biggest glacier, Aletsch Glacier, by the end of the century.